Family Fun

*Forgive the funky formatting. I’m fed up with trying to fix it.

I was honored to have the chance to interview Sarah Reinhard about her latest book, Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative or Clueless. Sarah and I have been e-buddies for several years now, and she was one of the first bloggers I got to meet in person several years ago at the very first Catholic New Media Celebration. Sarah is authentic, real, and fun. She’s known for her special devotion to Mary and frequently writes about relationship with the Blessed Mother over at her popular blog.

I always enjoy reading Sarah’s writing, and her newest book is a must-have resource for any family looking to pray – and play – together.

Catholic Family Fun is a guidebook for families to spend time together and integrate faith into that time.

So which category do you fit in to: Adventurous, overwhelmed, creative, or clueless?

I start out adventurous and creative and descend quickly into overwhelmed and clueless.

Why do you think it’s so important for families to carve out time together?

Life is short. Time is precious. Somehow, we all seem to be getting busier and busier and BUSIER. I suspect there’s only so much time when my kids will want to spend time with me, and I’d better build on that now, while I can!

Even as the idea of “family” is under attack, the most important thing we can do is to make it something our kids cherish by spending the most valuable currency we have on it: our time.

Likewise, why is it a good idea to make an effort to marble in faith into some of our family fun activities?

Our faith is FULL of fun, though it’s so easy to see it as a drudge or to make it boring. (Or it is for me, anyway.)

Can you give us a bit of a sneak peak and share one (or two!) of your favorite ideas for Catholic family fun out of your new book?

My favorite activity is, without any competition, horseback riding. I didn’t need to write the book for that to be true, though.

Here’s a guilty confession: I need this book more than anyone, and I’m also probably the least likely to use it. I battle laziness and a fear of failure when it comes to this sort of thing. So I love that I have forgotten half of what I wrote and that I can rediscover them with my own family now that the book’s in my hands!

What about your own family? How do you like to spend time together? What are some of your favorite activities and treasured traditions?

I am the poster mom for “failure when it comes to anything organized within my own family.” I give up, for one thing, and I am easily overwhelmed by my standards of perfection.

Meet the Author: Sarah Reinhard

Often, we spend time together watching old John Wayne movies, playing in the yard, or doing various things outside. Sometimes we go to a family member’s house and other times we go to the zoo.

We all love horses and riding, so that’s probably our favorite way to spend time together thus far. That said, my oldest is only seven, so we have lots of years of figuring out and forming family traditions ahead of us. I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from the great Catholic women I’ve gotten to know (like you, Kate!), both online and in my parish community.

Please tell my readers where they can learn more about you, your writing, and how to purchase your new book.

I’m online at SnoringScholar.com, and information about both me and my various projects is also there. I encourage everyone to purchase Catholic Family Fun from their local Catholic retailer. If you can’t, it’s available from Pauline Books (and soon, from Barnes & Noble).

Anything else you’d like to add?

Here’s something fun: the book has its own website, CatholicFamilyFun.com, where I’ll be posting a new activity each month, along with an encouragement to moms. There’s also a Facebook page for the book, where I’m hoping we can all encourage each other and share ideas.

Thanks for hosting me today, Kate, and for all the important and wonderful work you do!

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Will Work For Children

Welcome to my website (formerly known as Momopoly) where I work for children and write about them, too. I'm a wife, a quasi-crunchy, homeschooling (dropout) mom of four (plus two little ones who were lost to miscarriage), speaker, and author of Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body. Once upon a time I was a full-time journalist. Nowadays I ramble on about whatever is on my mind. Favorite topics include motherhood, my Catholic faith (or lack thereof), sleep (or lack thereof), running and fitness, body image, natural mothering, and poop.

I still occasionally write myriad media, have a monthly guest spot on Relevant Radio's Morning Air Show, and travel to exotic locations like South Bend, Indiana for speaking engagements several times a year. I'm currently a health columnist for Catholic Digest. Oh, and I'm also working* on my first novel. Let's hope I don't end up all alone hunched over my laptop in a dark room with crumpled drafts and empty gin and tonic bottles at my feet. I do the tortured artist thing way too well.